I remember the first time I heard the word “gemach.” I asked my mom “What’s this that was made?”
My first language is Yiddish, you see. Farshteyn?
She patiently explained that it wasn’t that something was made, it was just what it was called when nice folks make things available for free for folks in need to use.
Aha. So, what does “gemach” actually mean? Some folks would be surprised to learn that it’s an acronym of GEMilAs Chasadim. You might be one of those folks who have used all different kinds of gemachs without ever realizing the etymology of the enterprise.
Chabad folks really enjoy running gemachs, because they love acronyms.
You see what I did there.
Do you know what the actual plural for gemach is? That’s right, gemachim. However, calling them gemachs is a minhag of Klal Yisrael, and we’re very makpid to keep to those.
The best English translation for gemach? Free Loan Society. Nah, that doesn’t really capture the essence of it.
Guess who popularized the idea of forming your own gemach, for the benefit of the community. None other than one Rabbi Yisrael Meir Kagan. I’m sure you know him by a different name.
That concludes all the trivia I could dig up on the matter. Worry not, this will probably never be a Jeopardy! Category.